Ocular Therapeutix’s (OCUL) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $18.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 179.07% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Sunday, October 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Ocular Therapeutix from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.86.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

Shares of OCUL stock traded down $0.42 during trading on Monday, hitting $6.45. The company had a trading volume of 4,773,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,966,200. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $9.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.48 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 13.03, a current ratio of 13.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Ocular Therapeutix has a 52 week low of $6.00 and a 52 week high of $16.44.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $13.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.20 million. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative net margin of 579.10% and a negative return on equity of 59.89%. Ocular Therapeutix’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.39) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Ocular Therapeutix will post -1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ocular Therapeutix

In other Ocular Therapeutix news, insider Peter Kaiser sold 9,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.05, for a total value of $70,429.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 254,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,793,435.40. The trade was a 3.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Todd Anderman sold 11,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.29, for a total transaction of $87,363.36. Following the sale, the insider owned 140,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,024,128.36. The trade was a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 62,720 shares of company stock worth $556,247 in the last quarter. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Ocular Therapeutix in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 30.4% in the first quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the first quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the second quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.21% of the company’s stock.

About Ocular Therapeutix

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for diseases and conditions affecting the eye. The company uses its proprietary hydrogel-based formulation and delivery technologies to create sustained-release treatments intended to improve drug delivery, reduce dosing frequency and address unmet needs in ophthalmology.

Its commercial product is DEXTENZA, a corticosteroid ophthalmic insert that is placed in the canaliculus by a healthcare professional.